Super Mario Galaxy

A turning point where Nintendo mastered 3D Mario design with genuinely fair and consistently fun challenges. Gravity-shifting mechanics create clever level variety with polished execution.

Ambitious platformer with excellent level design but overly heavy-handed tutorials throughout.

Galaxy 2 stands alongside its predecessor as one of the greatest 3D platformers ever made, bursting with gravity-bending creativity and arguably even sharper platforming than the first. The Switch 2 release looks glorious with upgraded textures and welcome additions like assist mode and a new storybook. Gyro pointer aiming is less precise than the original Wii pointer, and losing Rosalina's Observatory for the menu-like Starship Mario makes the framing feel flatter.

SwitchUp review scored 88%. Highly recommended.